With plenty of offensive firepower on the roster, Ballard High School boys' basketball coach Chris Renner knows his team's defensive performance ultimately will decide its fate come March.

Down the stretch of Monday's championship game of the Forcht Bank King of the Bluegrass Holiday Classic, Renner saw plenty of reason for hope.

The Bruins held rival Trinity scoreless for the final 5:04 and closed the game with a 10-0 run for a 65-54 victory at Fairdale.

"I tell them that if I'm going to give them that freedom offensively, defensively you need to do the things I ask you to do," Renner said. "When we do those things, we're really good."

University of Louisville signee Quentin Snider scored a game-high 23 points and earned Bob White MVP honors in helping Ballard (9-1) – No. 1 in the state in The Courier-Journal's preseason poll of coaches – become the first team to win four King of the Bluegrass titles. Male and Fairdale both have won three.

Butler signee Kelan Martin added 18 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Both Snider and Martin forced Trinity turnovers in the final five minutes.

"We had to come together to make a big play on defense because every time they came down the court they were slowing their offense down … and we weren't in the passing lanes," Martin said. "Then we started getting in those lanes and contributing on defense."

Raymond Spalding, a 6-foot-9 junior, had six points and seven rebounds before bumping heads with Ballard's Brandon Berry at the 1:04 mark of the second quarter. Neither Spalding nor Berry returned to the game.

"It's a huge loss, but I was really proud of our team fighting," Szabo said. "We had some guys step up, and they didn't quit."

The Shamrocks jumped to a 9-2 lead and held a 33-28 halftime edge before Ballard began chipping away in the third quarter. Snider's 3-pointer from the left corner gave the Bruins a 49-47 lead with 37 seconds left in the period.

Snider's two free throws gave Ballard a 55-51 lead with 5:38 left in the game, but Jax Levitch nailed a three to pull Trinity within 55-54 with 5:04 remaining.

They were the Shamrocks' final points.

Snider forced a Trinity turnover when he tied up Ivory for a jump ball, and Martin had a steal and then converted two free throws to give the Bruins a 59-54 lead with 1:38 left. Martin also capped the scoring on a dunk with 16 seconds left.

Junior reserve Raeshaun Robinson also was clutch down the stretch for Ballard, scoring four of his seven points in the final 2:29. He also finished with seven rebounds.

"To win championships, your best players have to play well, but you need your role players to step up," Renner said. "Raeshaun Robinson has been huge for us in this tournament."

Knowing it's only December, Renner downplayed the importance of the title. He knows Ballard could see the rival Shamrocks again next month in the Louisville Invitational Tournament and – most important – in the Seventh Region Tournament in March.

But after finishing as the King of the Bluegrass runner-up last year and in fourth place in 2011, Renner knows the title was special for his seniors – especially with it coming against Trinity.

"Just as they'd hate to lose to us, I'd hate to lose to them because we're so competitive," Renner said. "It's always good to get these tournaments when you've come up short the last two years. For this senior class it's an accomplishment."

Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and on Twitter @kyhighs.